Arrow with integral trailing device



Dec. 24, 1968 G. w. ROHRBAUGH, JR 3,417,994

ARROW WITH INTEGRAL TRAILING DEVICE I Filed April 8, 1965 GEORGE W ROHRBAUGH, JR.

IN VEN TOR.

ATTORN Y United States Patent 3,417,994 ARROW WITH INTEGRAL TRAILING DEVICE George W. Rohrbaugh, Jr., 815 McKee St., State College, Pa. 16801 Filed Apr. 8, 1965, Ser. No. 446,583 3 Claims. (Cl. 273106.5)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a device that will discharge a continuous line of marking yarn from a hunting arrow imbedded in fleeing game, making it possible to follow the path of the wounded game by following the yarn trail. The device is comprised of a yarn holding bobbin attached to the arrow, an anchor means attached to the end of the yarn and which is adapted to hold one end of said yarn in place while the arrow is in flight or imbedded in moving game. The yarn will unravel from the bobbin and leave a marking trail wherever the arrow may be carried.

This invention relates to missile trailing devices and in particular to devices which make it visually possible to trace a hunting arrow imbedded in fleeing game.

In the art of bow hunting animal game, the archer frequently has the experience of discharging an arrow from his bow, having it strike and imbed itself in the game which flees carrying the imbedded arrow. When this occurs the hunter has the task of attempting to track the game through the woods, brush or hunting area. Frequently this is very difiicult in that the blood trail may be small or nonexistent and the area may not be suitable for following game footprints. Hence it is frequently the experience of the archer that fatally wounded game escape and are never recovered and that game more lightly wounded escape and are maimed permanently or die a painful death.

This invention solves this problem by providing a readily visible yarn contained in and discharged continuously from the arrow as the escaping game flees. This yarn trail will be continued for a distance up to a mile as long as the game moves with the imbedded arrow. Thus the hunter, by following the readily visible slender yarn, can track the game to its death bed or locate and humanely dispatch wounded game. The invention may be used on all hunting arrows which remain in game, such as bear, deer, etc. The invention may of course be used on any of the conventional hunting arrows used by the long bow, cross bow or other like missile throwing devices.

Hence it is an object of this invention to provide a device attached to a projectile which will permit the tracing of the path of the projectile by means of a laid visible yarn.

It is another object of this invention to provide a device for tracking and locating wounded game which flee the archer Without leaving a discernible trail.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device which will form a continuous visible trail. It is yet another object of this invention to provide a yarn tracking device self-contained as a part of a conventional archery hunting arrow. It is another object, also, to provide a means for anchoring the loose end of the tracking yarn to start the trail.

These and other objects of the invention will become obvious from a study of the following specification and claims taken in junction with the following drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a disassembled plan view of a conventional archery hunting arrow containing an embodiment of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a hollow shaft of a hunting arrow containing an embodiment of this invention;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view of the nock end portion of a conventional hunting arrow showing the embodiment of this invention for the discharge of trailing yarn from the arrow;

FIGURE 4 is a disassembled plan view of a hunting arrow head and arrow shaft containing a second embodiment of this invention;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view of the arrow head of FIGURE 4 showing this second embodiment of this invention;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view showing yet another embodiment of this invention contained within a capsule which is attached to the shaft of a hunting arrow.

Referring now to FIGURES 1, 2, and 3, 10 represents a conventional hunting arrow having a hollow shaft 12,

broad head point 14 positioned at the forward end portion of shaft 12, nock 16 positioned at the rearward end portion of shaft 12 and fletching vanes or flight guiding feathers 18 extending radially outward from the lateral rearward end portion of shaft 12. The hollow shaft 12 may be any of those conventionally available made of, say, aluminum, Fibergals, or other material. A bobbin 19 comprised of a small diameter portion 20 with a pointed end and a larger diameter portion 22 is inserted in the forward end portion of hollow shaft 12 so that the larger diameter 22 fits snugly against and within the hollow portion of shaft 12. The smaller diameter portion 20 of the bobbin 19 is contained within shaft 12 and is wound its entire length with yarn 23 beginning at the larger diameter portion and extending to the end of the smaller diameter portion. By yarn is meant a continuous strand often of two or more plies that is composed of carded or combed fibers twisted together by spinning, filaments laid parallel or twisted together, or a single filament, made from natural or synthetic fibers and filaments or blends of these. The diameter of this winding 24 of yarn is small enough to allow its insertion in the hollow shaft 12. The winding 24 begins at the larger diameter portion 22 and extends in a cone-like fashion to the end portion of smaller diameter portion 20 so as to allow the yarn to unravel easily and not bind.

The larger diameter portion 22 of the bobbin 19 is integrally attached by means of, say, low temperature adhesive, to point mounting member 26, the cylindrical rearward end portion of which is adapted to fit within hollow shaft 12 and the conical forward end portion of which is integrally attached to broad head arrow point 14. By removing point mounting member 26 it is thereby possible to remove also the bobbin 19 and attach yarn winding 24 from the internal part of hollow shaft 12. Yarn 23 extending from the winding 24 on the bobbin 19 is led down the internal portion of hollow shaft 12, toward the rear end portion of the shaft to nock 16.

The forward end portion of nock 16 is readily insertable in the rear of hollow shaft 12 while the rearward end portion of larger diameter abuts the shoulders of shaft 12. A hole 28 extends angularly through nock 16 and into the interior of hollow shaft 12. A rod-like acceleration weight 30 is loosely fitted within hole 28 so that the acceleration of the arrow being driven forward by the bow string will cause weight 30 to be forced out of the hole 28. A spring 32 integrally attached to the forward end portion of nock 16 is positioned to lightly bear laterally against acceleration weight 30 to prevent it from being jarred from the arrow. The end portion of yarn 23 from winding 24 is attached to acceleration weight 30.

In operation, the support member 26 and attached bobbin 19 are inserted in the forward end portion of shaft 12. The yarn 23 of winding 24 is led through the interior of hollow shaft 12 and attached to acceleration weight 30 which is inserted in hole 28 and held there by spring 32. The arrow 10 is then discharged by a bow (not shown) toward a game target. The acceleration of the arrow being driven forward by the bow string (not shown) causes acceleration weight 30 to be forced free of spring 32 and to leave the arrow 10 dragging the yarn 23 with it. The acceleration weight 30 travels a short distance in the direction of the arrow and then falls to the ground dragging the yarn 23 ofi the bobbin 19 through the hole 28. The acceleration weight 30 and yarn 23 tangle in the brush or on the ground and anchor one end of the tracking yarn 23 to start the trail. In practice it is also possible not to use the acceleration weight but to anchor the end portion of the yarn 23 to the bow, the hunter or other object, prior to discharging of arrow 10.

The animal struck by the arrow 10, say a deer, then has the broad head point 14 embedded in its body, and moves away leaving a yarn trail from the rear of the arrow 10. The small diameter yarn cannot break since the drag on the yarn 23 as it unravels is very, very small. The yarn 23 is usually made of nylon having a diameter of about 0.002 inch. Any other filament of cotton, plastic vor the like may also be used. Further, tangling of the yarn 23 in the brush only aids in pulling the yarn 23 off the bobbin 19 and out the rear of the arrow 10. The yarn trail will be stopped if the arrow is completely removed from the fleeing animal.

If the arrow misses its target, the tracking system can be reused providing sufficient yarn 23 remains on the bobbin 19. It is merely necessary to attach the loose end of the yarn 23 to a new acceleration weight 30. When the yarn 23 is completely spent, a new bobbin 19 with unused winding 24 can be inserted in the shaft 12 and the process repeated. The tracking system is again made ready for service.

Referring now to FIGURES 4 and 5, a modification of the above described device is shown in which a bobbin and winding of yarn are contained within a hollow broad head point. The bobbin 34 is comprised of a rearward longitudinally positioned shaft 38 adapted to fit within the forward end portion of shaft 12, and a forward frustrum shaped portion 39 upon which is a winding of yarn 44. A fiat oval-shaped flange 40 is perpendicularly positioned between shaft 38 and yarn support portion 39 and a smaller oval-shaped flange 42 is perpendicularly positioned at the forward end of yarn support 39 of the bobbin 34. Hole 41 extends longitudinally through the bobbin 34. Hollow broad head point 36 is adapted to internally receive the bobbin 34 so that the lateral portions of the support member 40 bear against the internal rearward edge of broad head point 36 and hold it securely in position. A flattened, cone-shaped winding 44 of yarn 23 is made upon the yarn support portion 39 of bobbin 34 in a conical fashion beginning at support flange 40 and extending to yarn containing flange 42, so that the yarn 23 will easily unravel. The outward lateral edges of member 42 are highly polished to avoid snagging the yarn 23 and are positioned so a space exists between them and the interior of broad head point 36 allowing the yarn 23 to easily pass.

In operation, the shaft portion 38 of bobbin 34 is positioned within the end portion of hollow shaft 12. Yarn 23 from winding 44 unravels in the forward direction, passes over the flange 42 and is led rearward through the longitudinal hole 41 of bobbin 34 into the interior of shaft 12 and is tied to'acceleration weight 30 in a manner previously described. Hollow broad head point 36 is then placed over the bobbin 34 secured against the lateral edge of support flange 40. When the arrow 10 is propelled by a how the acceleration weight 30 will again drag the yarn 23 with it, in a manner previously 4 described. Yarn 23 will unravel from winding 44 and pass over the outer lateral portion of member 42 as it unravels. The operation is then very similar to the one described in the previous modification of this device.

Referring now to FIGURE 6 there is shown yet another modification of this invention very similar to that of FIGURE 2, but in a separate, self-contained capsule attached to the shaft 12 of the hunting arrow 10. Shaft 12, for this modification of the invention, can be hollow or solid. A hollow cylindrical capsule 48 with open forward and rear ends is secured to shaft 12 by means of an adhesive tape 50. Other clamping devices or means can of course be used in place of tape 50. A bobbin 19 comprised of a small diameter portion 20 with pointed end and a larger diameter portion 22 is inserted in the forward end of capsule 48 with smaller diameter portion 20 to the rear. The larger diameter 22 is secured within the capsule 48 by an adhesive and serves as a cap. The smaller diameter portion 20 of the bobbin 19 is wound its entire length with yarn 23 beginning at the larger diameter portion 22 and extending to the end of the smaller diameter portion 20 in a manner similar to that embodiment of FIGURE 2. Yarn 23 extending from the winding 24 is led to the rear of capsule 48. The rear opening of capsule 48 is sealed by cylindrical cap 52 having a centrally positioned opening 54 therethrough. A rod-like acceleration weight 30 is loosely fitted within opening 54. A spring 32 integrally attached to the forward end portion of cap 52 is designed to bear laterally against the acceleration weight 30 to prevent it from being jarred from the capsule. The end portion of yarn 23 from winding 24 is attached to the acceleration weight 30.

In operation, this embodiment performs almost identically to that described for the embodiment of FIG- URES 1-3. When the shaft 12 with the capsule 48 securely attached is driven forward by a bow string (not shown), the acceleration weight 30 is forced free of spring 32 and leaves the capsule 48 dragging the yarn 23 with it. The yarn 23 is thus unraveled leaving a trail that will mark the path of the fleeing animal.

Although this invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity it is to be understood that the modifications given are by way of example only and that further modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of this invention.

I claim:

1. A tracking device contained as part of an archery arrow, which comprises in combination:

an arrow compising a hollow arrow shaft and a point;

a yarn bobbin positioned within a portion of said arrow;

yarn leading from said yarn bobbin through the interior of said hollow arrow shaft to the rear end portion of said shaft;

an acceleration weight integrally attached to the end portion of said yarn and positioned in the rear end portion of said arrow shaft;

an arrow nock having an opening therein and adapted to contain said acceleration weight;

a spring attached to said arrow nock and adapted to bear against said acceleration weight when said weight is positioned within said recess;

whereby when said arrow is subjected to a forward acceleration said acceleration weight would be released by said spring and fall to the ground and said acceleration weight and attached yarn will supply resistance to cause said yarn bobbin to unravel as said arrow is carried forward.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein said yarn bobbin is positioned within said hollow arrow shaft.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein said point comprises a hollow broad head point positioned on the end portion of said hollow arrow shaft; and

said yarn bobbin is positioned within said hollow broad head point.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Hunt 89-1 McCreary 89-1 Rogers 102-89 Krieger 273-106 Cox 273-106 10 6 2,904,338 9/1959 Podufal 273-106 3,156,185 11/1964 Hermann 89-1 3,286,947 11/ 1966 Erickson 89-1 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,732 1895 Great Britain.

LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner.

S. NATTER, Assistant Examiner. 

